House Democrats Meet to Discuss Infrastructure Plans

While Democrats are set to overtake the majority in the House in January, they’ve already begun discussions on how to pay for an infrastructure package. On Friday, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), who is likely to become the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, held a stakeholder meeting along with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), who currently sits on the House Ways and Means Committee and has requested that the committee establish an infrastructure funding subcommittee.

At the meeting, the lawmakers said they planned to hold hearings to garner ideas and recommendations to help solve the country’s crumbling infrastructure problem. Additionally, on Friday, Rep. DeFazio spoke on C-SPAN where he advocated for an increase in the federal gas tax to pay for an infrastructure package. However, a gas tax increase is something many politicians on Capitol Hill have tried to avoid at all costs. Many are hesitant to even talk about it. The 18.4 cent-per-gallon federal gas tax has been the main source of transportation funding for decades, but it has not been increased since 1993. If the gas tax were to have been indexed to inflation since it was enacted in 1993, drivers would be paying about 30 cents per gallon on their gasoline purchases now.

Earlier this Fall, outgoing House Transportation, and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), released draft legislation which calls for phasing in a 15-cent gasoline and 20-cent diesel tax increase over three years to ensure that the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) stays solvent over the next decade. After three years, the taxes would be indexed to inflation. The legislation will not be voted on this year but some of the provisions in the draft will likely serve as a placeholder for legislation next year when an infrastructure package is expected to be worked on in the House